Night creature stalking, killing birds

DEAR JOAN: Bird nests around my home are being raided at night and birds are being killed. What do you think? Rats, raccoons or opossums?

I have a wood pile away from the house and know rats live there, but I haven't seen any raccoons or possums. What do you suggest?

R. Wallis

Antioch

DEAR R.: It's hard to say what might be getting into the nests, but my best guess would be a raccoon or a cat. It might even be an owl.

Rats usually don't go after birds; they prefer to eat what they can find and aren't really hunters, although they will when the need arises.

Baby birds are vulnerable to nest raids. (Courtesy of Lisa Bowers)

There is not much you can do to protect wild birds from other wild critters. It's the way of nature, and all living things need to eat. You can maybe help out the birds by making your yard less attractive to rats, raccoons and cats.

Start by cleaning up the wood pile and getting rid of rat nests. Be sure to wear protective clothing, gloves and a dust mask. Raccoons have been known to use wood piles as temporary dens or latrines. If there is evidence that they are using it as a bathroom, be extremely careful with the exposed wood. Don't bring it into the house, except for maybe one piece to be burned at a time. The wood may contain roundworms and you don't want them in your house.

If you're not using the wood pile, you have an attractive nuisance. Get rid of it.

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Remove food items that may be attracting them, such as pet food, stray bird seed and food scraps. Make sure your garbage can is secure, and if you have a compost bin, make certain the lid is on tightly.

Next spring you can help out the birds by building some wire nests for them to use and putting them in areas where predators are less likely to get to them.

DEAR JOAN: Just reporting in to say the crickets are in full song in this part of town. They always start chirping toward the end of July.

What I miss are the doves that used to be so abundant and are now really rare. I think the influx of hawks and crows have done them in and also chased away the mockingbirds.

Liz K.

South Palo Alto

Dear Liz: The crickets are singing in my Antioch neighborhood as well, celebrating the summer heat.

Bird populations remain fairly steady, with some exceptions, but the concentrations change. You'll probably see the doves and mockers back again.

Free cats, cheap kittens

Like most of the Bay Area shelters, Contra Costa Animal Services is up to its ears in cats, including a lot of kittens. To help ease the burden and make room for the seemingly endless line of strays, the shelter has discounted kitten adoptions to just $50. You also can adopt an adult cat, 7 years old and up, for free.

In addition, the shelter is waiving spay and neutering fees on all of its pit bull dogs and mixes.

The Martinez and Pinole shelters are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and are open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. The Martinez shelter also does parking lot adoptions noon to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

Contra Costa Animal Services is at 4800 Imhoff Place, Martinez; the Pinole shelter is at 910 San Pablo Ave.